Boksburg explosion survivor says her scars a reminder of how she almost died
On Christmas eve two years ago, 41 people - including 11 nurses and a driver from Tambo Memorial Hospital - lost their lives after a gas tanker exploded while it was stuck under a railway bridge.
South African Police Service (SAPS) officers and forensic experts stand beside bodies in Boksburg, a city east of Johannesburg, on 24 December 2022, after nine people died and 40 others were injured when a fuel tanker exploded. Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - One of the survivors of the Boksburg explosion says her scars are a terrifying reminder that she almost lost her life.
On Christmas eve two years ago, 41 people - including 11 nurses and a driver from Tambo Memorial Hospital - lost their lives after a gas tanker exploded while it was stuck under a railway bridge.
ALSO READ:
- Two years after tanker explosion, some residents still reeling from tragedy
- Grandmother still haunted by deaths of her 4 grandchildren in Boksburg tanker explosion
Bernadine Philander was with her husband when the explosion occurred.
"That minute when I was on the floor, I thought I was going to die. I was affected mentally, I was mentally ill, I was not okay. I was not doing good. I was seeing things, talking to myself like a mad person. They told me there were times I ran out and talked alone and do things, so it did affect me."
She says they have since moved out of the area to help them put the bad memories behind them.